I have to admit I enjoyed "Titanic" when I first saw it but now the cheesey love story ruined it for me. I never get enough of "LA CONFIDENTIAL". There is always something new every time i see it.
I just watched this movie again yesterday. I could sit down and watch it again right now. It’s so well done all the way around. There are only a handful of movies like this for me. Godfathers 1 and 2, Patton and a couple others. It’s just that mesmerizing.
A classic! One of my favorite films. They don’t make em’ like this anymore. It’s amazing how many speaking parts and detail there is with this film. I can’t help but feel like I’m in the 1950’s whenever I watch this film. Thanks for posting.
I love police thrillers based in LA in the 40s, 50s and 60s. This is one of the best along with Mulholland Falls. China Town, Harper, and The Two Jakes are also great.
Brilliant film in every way. Excellent story, excellent direction, excellent performances, excellent editing, music, costuming, everything. *The* "film noir" to beat (even though it's not)!
A brilliant adaptation of Ellroy's sprawling novel. Every professional eye was beautifully focused on the story...cinematography, set design, costumes, editing, lighting, screenplay. Hanson's direction and handling of the actors was sublime. In a perfect world, this movie should have sunk the Titanic at the Oscars. Spacey's best work. In different films, Spacey named two iconic imaginary villains. Rollo Tomasi and Keyser Söze. A cinephile's treat all around.
Bud White, Edmund Exley and Jack Vincennes remind me of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Animal energy/pure id (White/Kirk), cool logic (Exley/Spock) and compassion (Vincennes/McCoy). None of the characters is complete without the other two. And that first scene in the bar with Kim Basinger -- unforgettable.
Great justice was done to the feel. It doesn't lay style on top of nothing, it's class. So many great actors got to shine, and we do get a depth to their characters, which is some achievement with a talent sandwich like this.
I'm Mexican.... And police police station was filmed in Downtown Los Angeles building on 6th St. And Main St. Same building where the movie 7 with Brat Pitt and Morgan Freeman's was filmed
I remember Dante Spinotti, I spoke to him because I got to work on this movie back in the summer of 96. I was new to LA and I could tell this was going to be a good movie
12:36 When this moment came in the theatre, I literally jumped out of the seat. Scared the hell out of people around me. :) It was that startling and that good. Wow.
I love this film. A lot of great performances, but Kevin Spacey was absolutely brilliant. Spacey tells the story with his face multiple times. I have never seen another actor do the stuff he does in this movie. This is a film I have watched dozens of times. And I never get tired of it. The acting, photography and editing are masterful. The Bloody Christmas seen and the shootout with the Nite Owl suspects are edited so tighly there are shots that you don't even see the happen so quickly. It should have won an Oscar for Spacey. It should have won an Oscar for Curtis Hansen as director, it should have won best editing and it should have won best picture.
I'm not a movie buff, so I didn't know who Guy Pierce and Russell Crowe were when I first saw this film. When I heard their accents in the making of the movie after watching it, I was absolutely blown away.
The music in the exterior shots of LA make me think of a lonely Sunday afternoon. Very mood evoking, the music. The streets were so quiet. The lonely trumpet.
I read an interview of Ellroy in 1998, a few months after the movie was released. He said that approximately 20 minutes into the movie, he realized he was witnessing a work of art. He thought it was a fantastic movie. Did he revise his opinion later?
Not sure. But the unique light is one tell for me when other cities/countries double for L.A.. It just is unique and apparently can't be created elsewhere. Or they don't even try, because so few of us will notice, lol.
1997 had two great films and one really good one. None won the best picture Oscar. _Titanic,_ the winner wasn't even number four. _L.A. Confidential, Boogie Nights_ and _As Good as it Gets_ were all better. So was _Good Will Hunting_ for that matter. Spacey should have gotten Best Supporting Actor and Mark Wahlberg should have won for best Actor. _As Good As It Gets_ is a good movie._L.A. Confidential_ and _ Boogie Nights_ are great movies that did not get the the acclaim they deserve. My opinion. Based mostly on my the truth. I think some films are underrated and _L.A. Confidential_ certainly is. 🙂👍🏻☮️ 🎥 🎬 🇺🇸
Reading about the historical context of the corruption of Los Angeles in a book like "City of Quartz," by Mike Davis for plot and scene development was too taxing for the director.
2 separate juries, in 2 different countries, found him Not Guilty, and found his accusers Not Believable. So: I guess you know more than them, even though they were provided with all the evidence and testimony. One of The Accusers in America repeatedly lied and lied and lied. For instance: There were text messages on his phone PROVING he was lying. He tried to DELETE THE MESSAGES, but they were able to recover the messages. In that particular case, the prosecutors dropped the case because The Accuser provably lied.
I love The Book, The Author ; and his entire body of work ... but I can’t help but feel that a lot of what goes into making a film , also : Goes into making this scripted mess which We are expected to believe : Is Reality .
All that talk about the importance of color makes me feel bad that I have recommended to others to turn your TV/monitor to black & white next time you watch this film, if you are doing a re-watch. (I usually have to do brightness and contrast adjustments.) It adds a really interesting visual twist to the film, and really takes you into 1953. Sorry Curtis (RIP).
My God, then why would you click the video? Plus, this movie has been out since 1997 so too bad if it's been spoiled for you. If this was a movie that was released now then it's understandable.
krogdog I’m European and this plays on TV a lot. Is the world supposed to stop watching films that star actors involved (but not jailed) in scandals? Good luck with that. Welcome to the world, nobody’s perfect.
